Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane once named two “nasty” Leeds United men among his toughest opponents, naming the same player as his former teammate Nicky Butt.
The rivalry between Leeds and Manchester United is one of the fiercest in the Premier League, and Leeds head coach Daniel Farke will get his first taste of the fixture in January.
There was an added intensity to the fixture in the mid-1990s and early 2000s as Leeds looked to close the gap with the all-conquering Man Utd team, coming close under former boss David O’Leary.
Former Man Utd midfielder Nicky Butt recently named Lee Bowyer and David Batty among the toughest opponents he faced in his career, as he regularly locked horns with the ex-Leeds pair.
This echoes the assessment given by Keane, who also included Batty in his list of toughest opponents when asked in 2019.
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Roy Keane named David Batty in his list of toughest opponents
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football in September 2019, Keane was asked to name the toughest opponents that he faced during his playing career.
Keane named two former Leeds players in his selection, describing both England international Batty and former Wales and Leeds hero Gary Speed as “nasty” opponents.
The former Manchester United man said: “The Premiership years ago, David Batty and these players, Rob Lee, would always give you a hard game.”
“Gary Speed, god rest his soul. These were brilliant players. Honestly, they’d give you a tough game. Gary Speed was a tough player to go up against, and Gary was pretty nasty, y’know. Batty was nasty.
“I always felt these boys, people always remember me kicking people, a lot of these lads were kicking me. I was just retaliating over the years!”
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Former Leeds United man once pipped Roy Keane in Premier League poll
Batty remains a criminally underrated player, despite winning the First Division and Premier League titles during his career and earning more than 40 caps for England.
The Leeds man was often written off as a crab-like player, only capable of passing sideways and backwards, but this assessment did a disservice to his quality on the ball.
Opta’s poll for the best holding midfielder in the Premier League in 2000
- David Batty – 20%
- Emmanuel Petit – 15%
- Patrick Vieira – 14%
- Roy Keane – 14%
- Paul Ince – 9%
This is evidenced by a poll from Opta in the year 2000, reported at the time by Sky Sports, which asked fans to pick the best holding midfielder in the Premier League.
Keane only polled fourth behind the Arsenal pair of Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira. Batty was the most popular choice, claiming 20% of the vote in a crowded field.
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